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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / June 2005Claw clipping
Why? > Why? If a cat does not have the means available to wear down the claws naturally, the claw can grow curved around and pierce the pad. But that's a worst case scenario. Mostly, trimming the claws is done to save (somewhat) on the wear and tear (literally) on the slaves (and sometimes furniture). There are alternatives, however the one I've tried involved using a superglue-like product to adhere plastic claw covers onto a squirming, uncooperative cat. I only do that when it is necessary for the cat to not scratch a wound open, and trimming claws only takes a couple of minutes once you have done it a few times. Bribery with treats afterwards seems to help. - Denise Brennasmeowmy Pearl gets hooked on *everything* when her nails get to long. I just clip the tips. > Why? So that when Basho and I are engaged in a loving session, his claws don't shred my face to pieces. :) Or when Xoxo sits on my tummy and starts to knead. Or when Fez climbs on my shoulder. I must be lucky then, cos he's 16 and I've never done it. He did destroy my old sofa, sneaky thing knew it was verboten and only did it when I was out of the room, under the cover so I didn't realise til it was too late. I have just bought new sofas and am now allowing him the run of the house so he sleeps upstairs during the day and has less temptation (hopefully) - I've also sprayed cat deterrent on the corners of the sofas so here's hoping! He uses his scratching post too, and the tree outside, but it doesn't seem enough. I would never clip him though, I'd be too scared to injure him, and at his age I don't think he'd stand for it! > I must be lucky then, cos he's 16 and I've never done it. He did > destroy my old sofa, sneaky thing knew it was verboten and only did it [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > though, I'd be too scared to injure him, and at his age I don't think > he'd stand for it! I tried to clip my cats' claws when they were kittens in order to keep down on the scratching damage, but Mandy especially fought so hard I decided it wasn't worth the effort. They do have a couple scractching posts. Oddly enough, Mandy the fighter doesn't do any illegitimate scratching, at least, not that I've caught her at. Betsy's always had her favourite spots, though - one of the mattresses, a futon cushion...I think I've mostly stopped her from scratching the carpet by putting piles of books on her spots until she forgets about them. But, well, that's cats. They have claws, and sometimes some of them scratch where they shouldn't.  SignatureCheryl > I tried to clip my cats' claws when they were kittens in order to keep > down on the scratching damage, but Mandy especially fought so hard I [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > But, well, that's cats. They have claws, and sometimes some of them > scratch where they shouldn't. I learned a long time ago that one can have cats, or one can have really nice furniture, but seldom both. (I'll take the cats, thank you.) >> I tried to clip my cats' claws when they were kittens in order to >> keep down on the scratching damage, but Mandy especially fought so [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > have really nice furniture, but seldom both. (I'll take the > cats, thank you.) Really? I guess we lucked out because we have nice furniture and a cat. Vino doesn't like leather and never scratches the wood furniture either. He has a couple of sisal covered scratching posts. He gets his claws clipped regularly. He does tend to like chewing on wicker but all I have that's wicker is a few baskets, etc. He only does it when he's mad at me for not feeding him on time. -- Britta "There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album > his claws clipped regularly. He does tend to like chewing on wicker > but all I have that's wicker is a few baskets, etc. He only does it > when he's mad at me for not feeding him on time. Awww... what a cutie! Our Quetzie (RB) never, ever scratched any piece of furniture. Except one, our wicker hamper. And only when he wanted us out of bed to feed him or let him out. He was such a good boy. Victor >> his claws clipped regularly. He does tend to like chewing on wicker >> but all I have that's wicker is a few baskets, etc. He only does it [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Victor Yes, he's a little angel most of the time. The only time he's bad is right in front of our faces when he wants to send us a message. Then he can be as stubborn as a 2 year old child! -- Britta "There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album >> his claws clipped regularly. He does tend to like chewing on wicker >> but all I have that's wicker is a few baskets, etc. He only does it [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Victor Marley Anne (aka: High Maintenance Marley) doesn't bother the furniture either, but instead likes to scratch on really strange things such as the plastic stretchy hose attachment of the vacuum cleaner, bicycle tires, bottoms of shoes. We don't have leather furniture, but I have a feeling if we did, Marley Anne would go to work on it like she meant it. -bonbon >>I learned a long time ago that one can have cats, or one can >>have really nice furniture, but seldom both. (I'll take the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > cat. Vino doesn't like leather and never scratches the wood furniture > either. Yeah, I'd heard that cats don't much like scratching leather - that's why I bought my leather chairs. Unfotunately, no one bothered to tell my cats about that aversion - consequently by the time I'd had it for two weeks it was well decorated with pinpricks! (The longer my familiarity with the beasts, the more I realize you can NEVER say anything beginning with "All cats......"!) >>> I learned a long time ago that one can have cats, or one can >>> have really nice furniture, but seldom both. (I'll take the [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > with the beasts, the more I realize you can NEVER say > anything beginning with "All cats......"!) We are on the verge of ordering a custom made leather couch and loveseat. We're not worried about Vino at all, however, we'll have to get another cat while Vino is still alive so that Vino can train the newcomer to keep the claws off the leather ;-) -- Britta "There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album > I must be lucky then, cos he's 16 and I've never done it. He did > destroy my old sofa, sneaky thing knew it was verboten and only did it [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > though, I'd be too scared to injure him, and at his age I don't think > he'd stand for it! You have to be careful when the become less active. I had one indoor/outdoor cat that always did fine, until she got to be about 17. I noticed her limping one day and checked her paw and I felt so awful! One of her claws had grown clear around and was buried in her paw pad. I carefully clipped it off and pulled it out, but I really kept tab on the older cats claws after taht. As well as all reasons given for cat's wellbeing re claws let me add "expensive custom-made leather furniture"! You have to have the patience to clip regularly and carefully, w/a regular routine and though my cats don't really like it, they are quite used to me clipping their claws. You could do it too and if you have new sofas I really recommend getting the old boy used to being clipped. Declawing has never, ever been an option for us in many years of being owned by short furry bosses who seem to understand that I know what's best for them in general. Give clipping a try: one caution: do NOT try to do it w/either hoomin nail clippers/scissors OR dog claw clippers - you will only fail and scare the s*** out of your cat. Buy CAT claw clippers (constructed differently). >> I must be lucky then, cos he's 16 and I've never done it. He did >> destroy my old sofa, sneaky thing knew it was verboten and only did it [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > off and pulled it out, but I really kept tab on the older cats claws after > taht. > I must be lucky then, cos he's 16 and I've never done it. He did > destroy my old sofa, sneaky thing knew it was verboten and only did it [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > though, I'd be too scared to injure him, and at his age I don't think > he'd stand for it! Some cats are more amenable than others. With Melly it's a two-person job and there's only one of me, so unless I can get a neighbor to help, I have the vet do it. (She doesn't do it for free, of course, but the charge isn't too much, and it's worth it to keep Melisande from limping.) > Why? I clip Vino's every few weeks because he tends to get long claws stuck in the curtains or upholstery and stuff. I'd hate to have him get stuck while I was out. Also, I like nice dull claws. They hurt me less! -- Britta "There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album > Why? Because cats claws grow more or less continuously, and if they don't go outdoors where they wear them down on pavement, etc., they grow so long they make the cat uncomfortable. (Not to mention inadvertent punctures in human flesh when they walk across you.) Ever since my Melisande broke her left hind leg a few years ago, the claws on that foot seem to grow much faster and are thicker and heavier than the others. They obviously hurt her, too, since she'll begin to limp if I delay having them clipped. |
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